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iOS 7 changes are overwhelmingly cosmetic

SAN FRANCISCO -- To silence a growing chorus of discontent against an
operating system design that's remained more or less static since 2007,
Apple needed to go big. With iOS 7, it did. Apple's crisp, newly
announced OS update gives the mobile operating system a radical new look
and some first-for-Apple features for iPhone and iPad fans, like
quick-access system controls, automatic app updates, and Apple's AirDrop
file-sharing system.
The visual overhaul, which becomes
available this fall, is a clean sweep that changes absolutely
everything, from the typography and color schemes to the typical icon
and button shape across the entire platform. And we mean the whole thing
-- from the Safari browser to the photo app.
While there are a
few notable new features in iOS 7, the new interface is by far the
platform's deepest felt and most profoundly changed of the entire batch.
Apple's other features are relatively uninspiring and do little to
challenge competitors; however, we have a feeling that Apple is saving
some major reveals for its next big iPhone announcement.

Design Gone are the skeuomorphic interface elements
that make icons and apps look like leather or paper or felt. Gone, too,
are the slightly bubbly icon effects. Flat graphics and a dappled,
pastel color scheme bring an elegant look. When you move the phone or
tablet, Apple promises a 3D effect that makes your wallpaper appear some
distance behind the icons.
Circles enter the design language,
along with visuals that look nearly transparent, like a pane of glass.
See what we mean in the slideshow above. The most important part of any
deep design work is that it feels smooth and connected from screen to
screen. We had a chance to sit down with some of the folks from Apple
after the keynote and check out iOS 7 for ourselves.

Navigation bars also disappear until you need them, a feature we've
seen in many browsers before, and swiping left or right takes you back
or forward a page, which we do find really useful -- until that moment
you accidentally swipe away from the window you wanted to be on.
To
note a few other additions: a new filter sorts out links from people
you follow on Twitter, and makes it easy to retweet them. You can now
scroll from one story in your reading list right to the next. AirDrop Mac users will cheer the addition of AirDrop in iOS 7, a peer-to-peer file-sharing service that will soon support the iPhone 5, fourth-generation iPad, and iPad Mini.
AirDrop
works by creating local ad-hoc networks among nearby users. So if you
want to share a photo, you'll hit the share button, and automatically
see others around you who are also on iOS 7. From their you just tap a
friend's picture and iOS 7 uses Wi-fi and Bluetooth to send your photo
(and the recipient can accept or decline). It also offers the option to
make yourself invisible to nearby iOS 7 users from the Control Center.Camera and Photos apps Apple did a lot of work reorganizing both the camera app and how images live in the photo app. CNET camera editor Joshua Goldman goes into detail here, but we'll also give you the gist.

The redesigned Camera app makes shooting modes easier to find.

(Credit:
Apple)

The camera app surfaces all your shooting modes so you can tap
them to frame your shot, such as still, panorama, video, and a square,
Instagram-like configuration. Another button will let you apply filters
to the still or square shots.
On the Camera Roll side, Apple
drops the endless list of photos that you may or may not break out into
albums. With iOS 7, Apple treats photos as moments in time organized
around geotagged locations, not just chronology. This takes a cue from
Apple's desktop iPhoto counterpart.
One crowd-pleasing party
trick is to zoom out and see all your photos from year to year. Sliding
your finger along photos the size of confetti brings on a cool,
scrubbing effect. It was definitely fun to use in our meeting with
Apple, but we're not sure if Apple's photo vision aligns with our own
when it comes to finding, storing, and sorting pics.iTunes Radio Gunning for Pandora, Google Music, Spotify, Slacker Radio, and pretty much any other music service, Apple's new iTunes Radio
expands the pre-existing iTunes with familiar features that include
radio stations you can build around a favorite artist, and featured
stations.
Of course, iTunes Radio will be tied to your Apple ID,
so you can use it wherever you have iTunes installed. It's free and will
be ad-free for iTunes Match users.
We're happy to see Apple join
the century, but there's not much new in terms of capabilities here
that no one else is doing. Stay tuned for a deeper dive.Siri matures
Apple's favorite digital voice assistant gains some more personality in
this latest revamp. In fact, "she" has a brand-new voice; two, if you
count the male version you can ask to talk to you instead. Though we
have played with the new iOS, the male voice was not included in the
beta release, so we'll have to reserve judgement.
A new soundwave
animation appears at the bottom of the screen when you speak, and
Siri's results come up in full screen, not just a tiny card. We did
notice that Siri still takes some time to respond search queries, so
Google Search still holds the speed record for voice searches. We also
like what we heard in the keynote that Apple will be adding
"high-quality" for non-English languages over time, including French and
German.
By far the most substantial addition, and one that's
truly useful, is that iOS 7's Siri can trigger actions on your phone's
system settings, like play a past voice mail, turn on Bluetooth, and
increase the brightness settings. Many voice assistants can't do this,
so it's nice that Apple has increased Siri's capabilities this way --
though it isn't clear how deep into the controls your voice can go. You
can also ask Siri to search Wikipedia and Twitter.

Siri gets some spit-polish, and the ability to turn off and on some system settings.

(Credit:
Apple)

Now we just need to see Siri's listening accuracy and response time kick into higher gear.FaceTime audio
The days of abandoning FaceTime every time you want to make a straight
audio (rather than video) call from your iOS device are coming to a
close. Apple announced that high-quality calls over Wi-Fi will
complement video calls for those who would rather talk while on the
move.Automatic updates
A tiny, but enormously time-saving addition, the App Store gets
automatic app updates in the new OS. This new feature was bittersweet
because while we don't like constantly looking at the updates
notification, there are some apps that we want to see the new features
before we update. Apple assured us in our meeting that auto updates can
be turned off in the settings.Multitasking Apple may
sneer at Microsoft, but it certainly likes its rival's aesthetics when
it comes to multitasking. Now, double-tapping the home screen brings up
not just tiny thumbnail icons of your open apps, but also a tall preview
(like a mini screenshot) of what you're looking at. Borrowing from
Android's recent app list, swiping away a preview closes the app.A few more noteworthy updates

Availability
Bad news if you're itching to try out iOS 7 for yourself, because you're
just going to have to wait unless you're a registered app developer.
The full public release comes to your iPhone and iPad this fall (with no
precise date). As usual, registered iPhone developers get a crack at
the new iOS 7 beta beginning today, but iPad developers will need to
cool their heels for a few weeks.
Not every device is going to be iOS 7-compatible. See the ones that didn't make the cut.Our take-away (for now)
This is the first major redesign of the iOS since the iPhone's first
release in 2007, signaling a shift to a more modern look that still
stays true to Apple's sharp, clean, almost cutting aesthetic. We like
the daring steps forward so far, but a contingent of die-hards will buck
at the unfamiliar.
Apple adds visual and usability elements all
its own, but also continues to borrow (as all the mobile platform-makers
do) from some rivals in drips and drabs. We see this sprinkled
throughout the OS in the quick-access settings, treatment of browser
tabs, and adoption of some circular design elements.
As we said
before, iOS 7 brings huge changes in the visual department, which is an
important part of the way you relate with your tablet or phone. Yet the
really substantial, game-changing new features are few and far between.
That
said, Apple has a history of keeping its most pulse-quickening news for
its next iPhone and iPad announcements. For that, we will have to wait
until this fall.
We'll get you many more hands-on details as soon
as we can. In the meantime, what do you think? Add your voice to the
comments below.

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